This isn't Narnia
by NBrokenShacklesN
Summary: Eustace and Jill were exploring the forest around Jill's home, till they discovered a rather curious tree. Going through the arch of the tree, they found themselves no longer in England. But nor were they in Narnia, so where exactly were they? And who were these strange little men, who called themselves hobbits?
1. Chapter 1

**OK, I really hope you lot like this, please drop me a review, and tell me what you think. **

**Disclaimer: I am not male. Nuff said. **

Chapter 1: Arriving.

"Come on Pole, what's the harm in a little adventure?" Eustace was teasing Jill, as they made their way through the woods behind her back garden; Jill had been exploring these woods since she was a very young girl, but always staying on the marked paths. Eustace was standing on a almost unnoticeable track through some very dense foliage, trying to persuade Jill to walk down it. Judging by the angle it was sloping off in, Jill though it would end up in Mr Trumps pig farm, and she had no intention of going home stinking to high heaven.

"You've had adventures before, you've been to Narnia for Pete's sake, so what's wrong with exploring a little?" Jill looked at his pleading face and could already feel her resolve weakening, but wasn't going to give in that easily.

"If I recall correctly Scrubb, that adventure got us buried alive; almost eaten by giants, then nearly drowned. Forgive me if I'm not so keen to have another. Besides if I ruin another frock, mother will go spare."

Eustace came to a halt and looked at her seriously, "You would like to return to Narnia though." The adventures he had in Narnia were never far from his mind, and he was always looking for a way to return there. He remembered Aslan's words, "_When you meet me here again, you will have come to stay" _and he dreamt of the day when he could stay in Narnia.

Jill also came to a stop. "Of course, I miss Narnia, I think everyone does, except Susan, but she's forgotten what she's missing out on. Goodness, even Professor Digory and aunt Polly miss Narnia and they haven't been there in years."

"Jill, do you think Rillian will still be there when we get back, and Puddleglum, and Glimfeather and all."

"I don't know, time passes differently in Narnia doesn't it. Why we may get back to find only a day has passed. Or a thousand years. It depends when Aslan thinks we're needed. "

By this time Jill had joined Eustace on the overgrown track, and had travelled along it quite a way. In fact they were both so engrossed in the conversation that, as sometimes happens, neither of them thought to pay attention to where they were going, and eventually ended up very lost indeed.

Presently Jill took a look around, "I say Scrubb, did you notice the way we came?"

"By gum, I totally forgot to look. I supposed we're lost. Not too different from Narnia at all then, we were lost half the time there too."

"Aslan guided us in Narnia, we were never completely lost" Jill reminded him. "But speak for yourself; I know exactly how to get home..." For in Narnia, Jill had guided herself by the stars, and she had learned to do the same in England. She glanced up, and then realised that as it was the daytime, the stars couldn't be seen.

"Well, since we are already lost..."

Jill was on the verge of refusing him, but she didn't want to get into an argument here, if they were lost, she didn't want to split up. "If you must, but the minute it gets unduly muddy, I'm turning back."

The two of them continued along what might once have been a trail, but now was so covered by plants that it looked just like an indent in the forest floor. Presently they came across a peculiar shaped tree. It seemed like two trees had joined, and made an arch, and the two being the adventurous sort. Eustace rather more than Jill, decided they simply must go through it.

"Scrubb, don't you remember what happened the last time we walked through an unknown door?"

"That was a door in a wall Pole, this in an arch in a tree. Besides I thought you wanted to go back to Narnia."

"You don't know it goes to Narnia, it could go to any world at all, but it's far more likely that it goes nowhere!"

"Then what are you afraid of?"

If Jill had been thinking more, she would have realised that Eustace was just joking, and in fact knew that she had changed a lot since the shy and scared girl he had gone to Narnia with, but she was too angry at his insult to care. How dare he... Even after she had escaped giants, fought a witch, and returned a prince to his kingdom, he still implied she was a coward.

It was this that caused her to snap and him, and say something she didn't quite mean. "I'm not scared Scrubb, and I'm going first, I'll have to protect you if there's a drop of more than a foot." And without a glance at his hurt expression, she hurried through the archway.

However as she was going through the arch, a remarkable sensation overcame her, as if she was being transported at very high speeds through a wooden corridor. As she reached the other side, she realised that the air had gotten cleaner, the sky bluer, and her outfit had changed completely...

The thing that worried Jill though, was not the change in climate, but the lack of an arched tree behind her, and more so, a lack of Eustace. Then a sudden thought struck her, as unpleasant thoughts do in such situations. What if Eustace hadn't come through, if the door had shut before he could? What if he was alone back in England, when she was alone here? Wherever here was.

For she had by now realised that this was not Narnia. The air was cleaner than England's, but it lacked the joyful giddy atmosphere of Narnian air, that air made you want to dance and laugh, bun this air seemed heavier. Like something dark was coming. She shivered, slightly scared, she didn't feel at all safe without Eustace. Strange as it seemed to rely of a boy of only sixteen for protection, but even before he had gone to Narnia, when he was still a bratty twelve year old, well, maybe it was her imagination, but even then he seemed to help her. He had always seemed to direct the anger of Them away from her as often as he could. Then after coming back from Narnia, he helped her more and more.

Eventually, when they both went to Narnia, despite their almost constant arguing they had formed a partnership. Him the hot headed swordsman who would protect her honour whenever required, expert in close combat; and she the calmer archer (though she had a hot temper of her own) who would watch over him from relative safety, and make sure no one snuck up on him. Him not being there with her, especially when she was in a new world, was weird, it felt like half of her was missing.

Another chill swept over her, after what she had said... He knew she didn't mean it right? She knew he was sensitive about his fear of heights, and to have just thrown it in his face like that, made her feel terrible. However reminiscing over a mistake wouldn't help her find out where she was, so she looked around, and set off in a northerly direction.

After Jill had delivered her unfair barb, Eustace was momentarily taken aback. He hadn't meant what he said, and didn't think her comeback was quite fair. But his anger was adverted when he realised that Jill had not reappeared through the other side of the arch, if fact she seemed to have disappeared completely. Without giving a single thought to safety, he immediately leapt after her.

The first thing he noticed after he finished the rather disorientating journey, was the lack of Jill, the second thing was the different feel in the air, wherever this place was... It was not Narnia. Then the worry set in. He had goaded Jill into going through the arch, who knew how dangerous this world could be, and he could have sent her anywhere in it. Though Eustace was only sixteen, he had been on adventures before, and knew how life threatening they could be.

Without Jill to guard his back he felt unsafe, like someone could attack him at any moment. His hand strayed to where his sword belt would be, and to his surprise he felt something there. He looked down in shock; and only then noticed his change in clothes.

Back in England, he had been wearing a blazer and tweed trousers, now he found himself in the sort of cloths that would have been worn in the middle ages, with a sheathed sword at his side, and a shield bearing a golden Lion at his back. Drawing his sword he noticed engraving on the blade. After reading it he felt a funny warm feeling in his chest, for there in bold letters were the words _Lord Eustace, Knight of Narnia. _

**AN: OK Folks, please drop me a review, and tell me how you like it, I will be updating next Monday, if not before. All reviews welcome, and flamers will be treated to the same end as Denethor.**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Hope you like this chapter guys, thanks for the feedback!**

**now my brother would like to say a few words: **

**I am most injupitably proud of such superflous and mesopotanian dicteronomy and thus request all readers to engage in correspondance in conjunction with the author to further improve her style and prowess in the start of what could become an illustriiious career. PEACE OUT! The imagination is the key to happiness.**

**Ok, if you didn't understand half of that, join the club, and get a dictionary. Hope you enjoy the chapter!**

Chapter 2: Battle

Jill had long since realised that where she was wasn't Narnia, but it had a sort of Magic in the air, an older Magic than the air of Narnia. It was strange, she mused as she pushed past tree branches, that this place was so similar, yet different. She wandered if there was Aslan here as well, or if he was called a different name, like he was is her own world.

She paused as she heard a sound of to her right, and moon light shining through the trees, it seemed that there was a way out of the forest there. She made her way towards it, thankful for the new attire she was dressed in, trying to scramble over fallen tree trunks in her skirt and blouse. Her tights would have been ripped into pieces by this point.

The black dress was slightly longer than knee length, and she had hunting boots on. The warm jacket was black and silver, looking like moonlight through trees; it was the ultimate disguise for walking at night, though Jill was slightly worried as to why Aslan thought she might need such a good one. She crept around the next log, reaching the end of the forest, and seeing a raised hill, with four figures on it. Quite small figures.

Why thought Jill, they look like children. Slightly worried at the state of this world if four children were camping alone, she saw, out of the corner of her eye, dark figures creeping up on them. The dark things had a horrible magic hovering around them. That magic was so dark, so evil, it was a hundred times worse than the queen of the underworld, much, much worse.

She immediately drew her bow, and fixed an arrow to the string. The bow had also appeared on her back when she entered this new world. On the bow were the words, _Lady Jillian, Protector of Narnia. _She had gotten a warm feeling inside after she had read that, although she hadn't quite felt she deserved it. Why, she had been a right pest when first she went to Narnia... Arguing with Eustace over everything, forgetting the signs, even pushing Eustace of the cliff. Why she didn't deserve the title of Lady at all.

However, with the change of outfit, and the bow and arrows, there had been another gift. One that wasn't hers to begin with. For she had realised that around her neck, next to the lion necklace than Eustace had bought her, was another necklace. One with a cordial attached to the end. She knew instantly that it was Lucy's cordial. She had never seen it herself, but had heard Lucy describing it, and it was defiantly the same one.

She felt different wearing the cordial. It made her feel stronger, more like the Lady that Aslan had proclaimed her as, and it scared her a little. This necklace, had been worn by a queen, had been at the front of many battles. Though back in England Lucy was her friend, in Narnia she was her queen, and in this strange country, she would have to act as befitting to Narnia. As befitting to the lady of the cordial she was now wearing. I will make you proud Aslan, she vowed. Though it would have been easier to do so with Eustace by her side...

Jill raised her chin, she would be a Narnian Lady, brave, kind, strong and companionate, and she would start by protecting those children from the evil encompassing them. She watched as the fire went out, and dark figures started advancing on the children, then another figure jumped in, and started fighting the darkness, she knew that style. Eustace! She drew her arrow again, and released it, brushing past Eustace's shoulder, and into the dark shape behind him.

Jill fought the grin that was appearing on her face, this was just as they were in Narnia, working together. Why was she ever mad at him, he was her best friend, although she was pretty sure that best friends didn't blush whenever the other hugged them.

Jill's happiness was brought to an abrupt end when she saw Eustace push one of the children out of the way, and then crumple to the floor.

* * *

Eustace had been walking about the forest for quite a while, and night had begun to fall. He couldn't guide himself via the stars, oh, how he wished he had Jill with him. Adventures weren't nearly as fun by one's self. He finally reached the end of the wood, and saw a hill nearby, with a fire on one side of it. There were three shapes round the fire, and one other which seemed to be sleeping by the side.

Before he had realised where he was going he headed toward the fire. He had emerged from the wood cover, and moved silently halfway toward the hill, before the thought crosses his mind that the people around the fire might not be friendly. He was thinking about heading back to the woods, before it registered with him, that if Jill was in this strange new world too, then she would head for the fire. Though she wouldn't approach it till she was sure it was safe. Why, his only sure way of knowing whether she was here to was to get closer to the fire.

Eustace began edging closer to the fire, and in his heightened sence of awareness, still trying to hear Jill, heard others approaching the fire. He stopped, and looked around. With the light of the fire behind him, he could see dark figures gliding over the grass. He felt a growing sence of horror at their appearance, whatever they were, they were not men. The evil emitting from them was sickening; these creatures were the darkest beings that he had ever encountered. Eustace shuddered; suddenly he was extremely grateful for the sword that Aslan had given him.

Eustace glanced back at the fire, now he was closer, he could see that the people by the fire were small, no bigger than children, and these dark beings were heading straight for them. Eustace started running, he doubted that they had swords, or if they did, that they knew how to use them against these creatures. Maybe he wouldn't be able to last long agaist them, but by the Lion, he would defend those children as long as he could!

By the time Eustace got to the hill, the dark creatures had surrounded it, there were more than he thought, and they seemed to being going after these children in particular. Then he got closer, they weren't children, they were little men, but he had been right about them not being able to wield a sword. They had little swords, like butchers knifes, but other than swinging them around wildly, and almost cutting each other's heads off, they weren't doing much.

Eustace watched as the nine dark creatures approached the little men, and saw one of the taller beings, swing his sword at one of the little men.

"Watch out!" Eustace's shout sounded just in time, and the little man jumped out of the way of the black sword. Eustace shuddered as he looked at it, dark blades were generally covered in poison, or so he had learnt from Rillian and Puddleglum, though since Puddleglum thought the worst of almost everything, Eustace didn't think that his opinion counted.

The close shave spurred Eustace back into action, he leapt in the way of another of the dark beings, who was just about to cut the head of the smallest man, and stopped his blade with his own. He watched in shock, as the Narnian blade glowed gold, and cut through the darker blade, reducing it to two halves. With a smile, and a gleeful shout of "Thank the Lion", Eustace put his all into the fight. He felt silver arrows fly past, and him those who were creeping up behind him. His joy at this confirmation of Jill's existence was like a whirlwind of happiness, which he channelled into his blade as he spun around, cutting black blades into pieces. For only Jill could shoot so close and yet still miss him, and nail the enemy behind him. Only she was so brilliant at archery.

Eustace noticed another figure leap into the fight, also clad in black, but a softer kind, his aura was lighter, more, more... Good was the only way that Eustace could describe it, and the torch of fire in his hand was bearing the eight dark beings away. Eustace looked back at the little men with a smile on his face, and then noticed the ninth being standing over one of the men, a non-shattered black blade in his hand.

Before he realised what he was doing, Eustace had thrown his sword at the being, and pushed the man out of the way, just in time for the black blade to enter his stomach. The pain was worse than anything he had ever felt, and brought him back out of the warm comfort of knowing that Jill was here. The last thing he heard was her frantic voice, and her footsteps running up the hill. The last thing he saw was her worried face, as she dropped to her knees beside him, and then his vision went black.

**AN: Hope you like it guys, and please,please Review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: OK, Here's chapter 3, please review if you like it folks!**

Chapter 3: Healing

Jill saw the blacked sword enter Eustace's body, and screamed, her feet carrying her up the hill faster than she had ever moved in her life. Even when escaping the giants at Harfang, she had not run this fast. She had only just seen him again, and the relief she had felt at knowing she wasn't alone in this world, that her knight had come with her, was draining away. Replaced with horror, and guilt. For if he hadn't followed her, and then he wouldn't have gotten hurt.

By now she had reached the crest of the hill, but she didn't stop running, she felt tears streaming down her face, and realised that she was still mumbling his name. She dropped to her knees beside him, and pulled his head onto her lap. He wasn't moving, and she felt her tears increase. She had no idea what she was saying as she wiped the mud of his face from where he had fallen, and pulled the sword from his stomach, watching the sticky crimson liquid flow from the wound.

She remembered that there were others on the hill, and looked up to see the tallest man approach her. He held his hands out in front of him, and she registered him speaking. "Greetings, My name is Strider, and these are the hobbits, Pippin, Merry, Sam and Frodo. What is your name?"

Jill looked at him in surprise; she had expected him to be more forceful and demanding. Though she supposed he was being nice because she was a girl, in her experience boys, and men, didn't know what to do when a girl cried. Eustace was the only one who knew what to do when she cried. She felt a sob build in her throat, but now her comforter was the reason that she was crying. She took a deep breath, time to pull herself together. She was a lady of Narnia, and it was time to start acting like it!

She looked up again, and met the worried eyes of Strider, and answered, "My name is Jill, and this is Eustace." She looked back at the others in the group. "I mean no offence, but what's a hobbit? I've never heard of one."

The man, Strider was speaking again, and this time with a more worried tone in his voice. He was holding the sword that had been embedded in Eustace's chest, and she watched as it dissolved into the air. "A morgal blade, this is poison beyond my ability to heal, and we are still many days from Rivendell. I fear he may not make it."

Jill dropped her head again, looking back at the injury, and saw black lines spreading out from the wound, along the veins and arteries. She saw the sweat layering Eustace's forehead, and the whimpers coming from his mouth. Out of it all it was the whimpers that scared her the most. When he got injured he never made a noise, he suffered in silence. He must be seriously hurt to be whimpering like that.

She saw one of the hobbits out of the corner of her eye, and turned her face to look at him. He seemed like he was about to cry, and at her questioning look he spoke. "He pushed me out the way. That sword was meant for me... It's, it's my fault."

Jill felt like screaming at him, but she knew that would be wrong. It was Eustace's fault for being a stupid, self sacrificing, idiot. It was the dark figures fault for stabbing in the first place. None of it was the hobbits fault, and Aslan had taught her better than to blame. She removed one of her hands from clenching Eustace's and placed it on his arm.

"It's not your fault. Eustace jumped in the way. You didn't push him. It's not your fault."

She got the feeling that the miserable hobbit wasn't listening to her though. He was mumbling to himself, "If we can't reach Rivendell, and Strider can't heal him. It would be my fault if he died."

His words struck a point in her mind that she hadn't thought about. Heal him. She was so stupid. This must have been why Aslan had gifted her Lucy's cordial, and here she was mourning someone who wasn't going to die. At least not if she could help it. After all, if Lucy's cordial could heal Edmund when he had been stabbed with the white witches Ice wand, then surely it could heal a wound inflicted by a poisoned blade.

Jill fumbled with the cord around her neck, and removed the vial of healing cordial. She unscrewed the cap, and poured a drop into Eustace's open mouth, holding it closed so he would swallow. She stared at the wound, silently willing it to heal. Nothing was happening. Why was nothing happening?

"Oh, Aslan please." She mumbled. How was she supposed to survive in this new world without Eustace? Without her knight?

Then the poison was retreating, and a black tar like substance was being ejected from the wound, and Jill wiped it away with the hem of her dress. Then the wound was closing up, and the whimpering stopped. And Eustace was just sleeping, exhausted, but healed.

**Frodo's P.O.V**

Frodo had been worried since he left the shire, and when he, Sam and the others had arrived at the Prancing Pony, he thought that he could just send Merry and Pippen back to the shire, they shouldn't have to get involved in his mess. He would have liked to send Sam home too, but he knew that the stubborn gardener would refuse.

But all that was pointless now, because Gandalf hadn't been there, and now all four were on their way to Rivendell, with a man, a ranger that Frodo still didn't really trust. And now, to top it all off, those other silly hobbits (and he knew he should have sent them home, but they wouldn't hear of it) had started a fire, on the top of a hill, and now the ring wraiths would be sure to find them.

In fact, he could feel them creeping up the hill now, encircling them as he stamped the fire out, and lead the other to the top of the hill. The nine were encircling them, and creeping up on them. Frodo held out the short blade that Strider had given him, and tried to hold it so that he would be able to fight with it. Having never fought before, he wasn't quite sure how to handle a blade.

Frodo glanced back up at the others, just in time to see a black blade swing at Sam, but before he could shout, a voice came from the other side of the crest of the hill, "Watch out", and Sam leapt away from the blade. The owner of the voice, who quite clearly was not Strider, leapt over to one of the nine that was about to cut Merry's head off, and cut his blade in half.

Frodo couldn't help his gasp of astonishment. No-one had ever managed such a feat before, and the stranger just gave a smile, and a gleeful shout of "Thank the Lion". Frodo didn't understand who the Lion was, but if he had sent this helpful stranger, then he would most defiantly be thanking him. He noticed silver arrows coming from somewhere behind the stranger, and hitting the ring wraiths with deadly precision, that, should they have been men, they would have been dead several times over.

But in watching the stranger, Frodo had taken his eyes of the ring wraith in front of him, and the next thing he knew, he had landed on the floor, and the stranger was standing just where he was, with a black blade sticking out of his stomach. Then Strider was there, and the nine had left, and the helpful stranger crumpled to the floor, a high pitch scream echoing from the direction that the arrows had come from.

Frodo noticed a woman run up the hill, and drop to the strangers' side, a bow of silver on her back, and absentmindedly realised that this must be the archer. He couldn't take his eyes of the wound though, that should have been him, the blade was aimed at him, and now this stranger, a man he didn't even know, was going to die because of him. He saw the woman, no girl, which just seemed to make it worse, look at him inquiringly, and said. "He pushed me out the way. That sword was meant for me... It's, it's my fault."

Her reply shocked him, she couldn't have been of age yet, but she was far wiser than she appeared, and she didn't blame him? She should, it was his fault after all. He muttered again. "If we can't reach Rivendell, and Strider can't heal him. It would be my fault if he died."

Frodo watched in astonishment as his words seemed to cheer her up, and she fumbled at a cord around her neck, and then she poured some liquid into the strangers' mouth, and the wound started healing. As he watched, it closed up, and the black poison was expelled from it. The girl wiped it away with the hem of her dress, and then looked up with a smile. Her face looked completely different when she smiled. Frodo thought she should smile more often.


End file.
